Execution Of Youth Suspect Stayed In Pakistan

Pakistani Kashmir parents of convicted killer Shafqat Hussain, display a photograph of their son, in Muzaffarabad on March 12.

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Execution Of Youth Suspect Stayed In Pakistan

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In Pakistan, a man charged as a child with murder and due to be hanged this week has been given a reprieve.

Shafqat Hussain was scheduled to be executed early on March 19 in the port city of Karachi for the 2004 killing of a 7-year-old.

His family and lawyers say he was 14 years old at the time of the crime and allege his confession was extracted through torture.

After a public outcry and condemnation from human rights groups, officials stayed his execution late on March 18 although it is not clear for how long.

Hussain's case is the most high-profile execution case following a government decision to lift Pakistan's moratorium on the death penalty.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ended the moratorium for terrorism-related cases in December, following a Pakistani Taliban attack on a school that killed more than 150 people, and it has since been lifted entirely.